Lisa West has had what she calls a “very non-traditional journey” as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but this journey has led her to unique opportunities to connect to the community and build relationships with those of other faiths. As a convert, single mom, and active volunteer in her community, West now serves as a chaplain for the law enforcement of Sacramento County—the first LDS chaplain their unit has ever had.

More than 50 million remarried people currently live in the United States alone. Two of those people are my parents. In just over 14 months, they went from a couple of 25 years to divorcés to members of new blended families. I and my four adult siblings quite suddenly found ourselves with a stepfather, a stepmother, and five new stepsiblings. And for a long time, I wasn’t really sure where I fit.

Most of the stepmothers I know didn't grow up thinking, "Hey, someday I'm going to be a stepmom. I can't wait." Nevertheless, I grew up to be the stepmother to three and my sister—brave sister that she is—grew up to marry a man who is the widowered father of six. And the reality is, my sister and I both have friends who grew up to be stepmothers as well. If you are a stepmother or know someone who is, here are a few suggestions for making the most of blended family life.

On Friday, the general presidents of all the women-led organizations in the Church met for a historic Sister-to-Sister event at BYU Women's Conference.

The following is republished with permission from faithmatters.org.

“My mother passed away in 2006. She was a marvelous woman. I am reminded of Lincoln’s words: ‘All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.’”

Compared with a once-soulful experience of prayer and scripture study, many of us know what it’s like to find spiritual practices becoming impoverished, superficial, and thin. Although it’s easy to conclude that prayer or scriptures themselves are somehow limited, it would be shortsighted not to also consider ways in which larger tendencies toward distractedness, stressful busyness, and an accelerating pace of life might be playing a role.

Pornography addiction.

Emily Belle Freeman had asked her friend for time to think about how to respond to his text message: “Emily, you can’t be Mormon and gay,” he’d written.

I recently received an email from a friend looking for advice. He related how he has been diagnosed with major depression for several decades. Throughout that time, he has gone to counseling, read self-help books, taken antidepressant medication, and done his best to keep his covenants. Still, his feelings of depression never fully resolved and have waxed and waned. Then about five years ago he was diagnosed with a chronic nervous system disease which has increased his suffering and decreased his hope. Although he tries every day to look forward with faith and gratitude, he finds this more and more difficult as his situation deteriorates. I empathized with his situation. Reflecting on his case, I realized he was definitely not alone. I have personally known many individuals who suffer with persistent problems. Despite their best efforts, they are not able to fully overcome their challenges.